🏛️ Verified NIH Record • Updated 2026-05-07

Memory-like Natural Killer (NK) Cell Therapy in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma or Urothelial Carcinoma (NCT06318871)

A Phase 0 Pilot Study of Memory-like Natural Killer (NK) Cell Immune Therapy in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma or Urothelial Carcinoma

🔵 Active, Not Recruiting Early Phase1 💊 Investigational Drug / Biologic Sponsor: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)

The goal of this research study is to establish the safety and then to explore the effectiveness of infusing the combination of cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) natural killer (NK) cells, a type of immune cell in the blood that is collected and bathed in special proteins to help identify and treat curtained advanced cancers, combined with low dose IL-2, which is a cytokine that activates immune cells, in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma. Names of the study therapies involved in this study are/is: * CIML NK cell therapy (a NK cell therapy) * IL-2 (a type of cytokine)

Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (22 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (18 items).

Location: Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts

Age range: 18 Years

📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener

Instant Checklist

Check every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).

Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:

  • Exclusion Criteria:
  • Participants who have had anti-tumor chemotherapy or other investigational agents within 2 weeks prior to enrollment(4 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C), or immunotherapy within 4 weeks prior.
  • Persisting toxicity related to prior therapy (NCI CTCAE Grade \> 1); however, alopecia, sensory neuropathy Grade ≤ 2, or other Grade ≤ 2 not constituting a safety risk based on investigator's judgment are acceptable.
  • Prior recipients of solid organ transplantation.
  • Participants who are receiving any other investigational agents.
  • Participants with leptomeningeal disease are excluded from this clinical trial due to their poor prognosis and because they often develop progressive neurologic dysfunction that would confound the evaluation of neurologic and other adverse events. Patients with treated brain metastases are eligible if imaging has shown stability over at least 4 weeks.
  • Autoimmune disease: patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease, are excluded from this study, as are patients with a history of active autoimmune disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic progressive sclerosis \[scleroderma\], systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitis \[Wegener's granulomatosis\]) and motor neuropathy considered of autoimmune origin (e.g., Guillain-Barre syndrome and myasthenia gravis). Patients with diabetes type I, vitiligo, psoriasis, or hypo- or hyperthyroid diseases not requiring immunosuppressive treatment are eligible.
  • Clinically significant (i.e., active) cardiovascular disease: cerebral vascular accident/stroke (\< 6 months prior to enrollment), myocardial infarction (\< 6 months prior to enrollment), unstable angina, congestive heart failure (≥ New York Heart Association Classification Class II), or unstable cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication. Patients with rate controlled atrial fibrillation / atrial flutter on stable medical therapy are eligible.
  • Other uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection requiring systemic therapy, or uncontrolled psychiatric conditions including recent (within the past year) or active suicidal ideation or behavior, or other psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements, or laboratory abnormalities that may increase the risk associated with study participation or study treatment administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study.
  • Participants with known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment, or history of other malignancy within 2 years of enrollment, with the exception of cured basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, superficial bladder cancer, prostate intraepithelial neoplasm, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or other non-invasive or indolent malignancy, or cancers from which the patient has been disease-free for \> 1 year after treatment with curative intent.
  • No systemic corticosteroid therapy (≥ 10 mg of prednisone or equivalent dose of systemic steroids for non-autoimmune indications for at least 2 weeks prior to enrollment).
  • Pregnant women are excluded from this study because of the unknown teratogenic risk of CIML NK cells and IL-2 and with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects by fludarabine/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy regimen. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with CIML NK cells and IL-2, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated on this study. For this reason, women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study or 12 months after last treatment, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 12 months after completion of the last CIML NK cell and/or last IL-2 administration.

🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.

📍 All Participating Trial Locations (2 Sites)

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute — Boston, Massachusetts

💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights

  • 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
  • Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
  • Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.

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💡 How to Participate

  1. Check the checklist above to see if you may qualify.
  2. Review the official NIH record below to find the coordinating site.
  3. Ask about the visit schedule, what is covered at no cost, and any travel support.
  4. Confirm with your own doctor before making a decision.
🏛️ View Official NIH Record ↗